Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
29 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Brunes |
1920 Water is the sovereign wealth of a state and its people. |
|
How much water is there? Ft Oceans |
96% |
|
Most abundant salts in water: |
Ca Mg Na K Cl (Chloride) |
|
PPM |
Parts per milion |
|
Freshwater defined |
As water with less than 500 parts per million (0.05%) of dissolved salts |
|
Freshwater consumption + Population Proportion Ft Europe |
12.4% of pop 625m3 (per capita) |
|
Freshwater consumption + Population Proportion Ft Asia |
60.6% of pop 542m3 per capita |
|
Freshwater consumption + Population Proportion Ft N America |
5.1% of pop 1798 per capita |
|
Rain-fed Water supply |
80% of run-off in northern or equatorial regions w low pop density 25 largest rivers account fo 40% of global run-off |
|
Owens lake, Cali |
Levels began dropping mid-19th C 360km water export system to Los Angeles 1900-1920 Lake disappeared 1930 |
|
Groundwater extraction |
0.6-1.7% of total freshwater supply Precipitation saturates the soil |
|
Aquifer |
free of sediment Relatively available and inexpensive Can be easily polluted or depleted |
|
High Plains Aquifer |
Largely formed in thick, porous deposits of unlithified sand and gravel Covers 280,000 km2 |
|
Botkin and Keller, 2005 |
Any biological, physical or chemical substance that, is known to be harmful to other desirable living organisms |
|
Access to improved sanitation |
2.5 billion no access to improved sanitation |
|
Access to drinking water |
900 million no access to improved drinking water |
|
Biochemical Oxygen Demand |
Breakdown of organic matter in streams by oxygen consuming bacteria BOD is a measurement of the oxygen required for decomposition |
|
Response to accidental sewage spill |
1. Pollution zone – High BOD, Low Dissolved Oxygen (DO) 2. Active Decomposition Zone – minimum DO 3. Recovery Zone All streams have some capacity to degrade organic waste |
|
BOD |
Biochemical oxygen Demand
|
|
BOD in UK streams and cause |
33% BOD due to agricultural activities |
|
Cultural Eutrophication |
Natural Process Largely the result of diffuse agricultural pollution Also wastewater discharge, changes in landuse that increase soil erosion |
|
Ruth Patrick |
1907-2013 ‘Pioneering environmental activist’ Studied diatoms in rivers and lakes Linked biodiversity to freshwater pollution |
|
Impacts of Eutrophication |
Algal blooms (e.g. bluegreen algae) Increase in BOD due to increased productivity Reduction in ecosystem diversity Impairment of drinking water quality, fisheries Health effects |
|
Case Study, Cornwall: Metal contamination of drinking water supplies |
Camelford, Cornwall 1988 Population 20,000 Aluminium sulphate added to treated water Highest aluminium conc. 109,000ug l-1 (legal limit is 200) Enough released to kill 60,000 fish 400 people reported health effects (short and long term) |
|
Acid Mine Drainage |
High sulphuric acid (H2SO4) concentration Associated with coal, copper, lead and zinc mines Toxic to plants and animals |
|
Parys Mountain, Anglesey: Mines |
Mined since bronze age Closed in 1915 Tailings dam pH 1.5 Water pumped out in April 2003 |
|
Surface Water Acidification |
Deposition of acid rain Major source coal burning power stations Western Britain, Scandinavia |
|
The European Water Framework Directive |
Established October 23rd 2000 water management based on river basins Monitoring networks established 2006, meet environmental targets 2015 |
|
Solutions |
require effective management at scales from catchment to intercontinental |